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Operator of bus involved in fatal New York crash was listed by state as ‘unacceptable operator’ after failing safety inspections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

(CNN) — The transportation company that owns the bus involved in a fatal crash in New York this week while bringing high school students to a band camp was listed as an “unacceptable operator” by the state after failing several safety inspections since 2022.New York State Department of Transportation records show the bus operator, Regency Transportation Ltd., had failed five out of 15 total safety inspections during the state’s 2023 fiscal year, department spokesperson Joseph Morrissey said Friday. The agency conducts more than 150,000 safety inspections each year as part of its bus safety program.The bus was carrying about 40 students on Farmingdale High School’s marching band from Long Island to a band camp in Pennsylvania when it careened off Interstate 84, crashed through a wire guard rail and flipped over repeatedly down the ravine in Wawayanda, about 70 miles northwest of New York City, according to New York State Police Trooper Jason Lewis.Two longtime teachers...

No. 25 Florida settles for field goals and beats Charlotte 22-7 in Swamp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Ricky Pearsall made a one-handed catch that will be hard to top this season, Trey Smack kicked five field goals and No. 25 Florida overcame a lackluster performance to beat Charlotte 22-7 on Saturday night.The Gators (3-1) won their third consecutive game since losing at then-No. 14 Utah, but they looked far from ready to go on the road and end a two-game skid to Kentucky next week.Graham Mertz completed 20 of 23 passes for 259 yards, with a touchdown and a fumble. Pearsall finished with six receptions for 104 yards, none better than his leaping snag down the seam that led to a field goal and a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.But the Gators delivered few highlights the rest of the night. A week after a 20-point second quarter against Tennessee, the Gators managed 18 yards — including minus-1 rushing — in the second against one of the worst defenses in major college football.The 49ers (1-3) allowed nearly 1,100 yards in back-to-ba...

2 Florida kids stole their mother’s car after she took away their electronics and they were pulled over 200 miles away, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities in north Florida were surprised to discover a 10-year-old behind the wheel when they pulled over a stolen vehicle this week.Officers pulled over a white sedan on Interstate 75 just before 4 a.m. Thursday in the city of Alachua, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle had been reported stolen out of North Port, a city in southwest Florida more than 200 miles away.The report of the vehicle being stolen prompted deputies to conduct a “high-risk traffic stop,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.When the vehicle was stopped, deputies saw a 10-year-old boy hop out of the driver’s seat and his 11-year-old sister exit the car, the sheriff’s office said in the post. Authorities then learned the siblings were also reported missing in North Port and the stolen vehicle belonged to their mother, the post said.“It was learned that both children were upset with their mother because she took away their electronic devices, which is believ...

Back to the ‘frituur’: A guide to Brussels’ ‘frites’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

Armed only with a healthy appetite and a small wooden fork, our intrepid reporter set out to answer the question: Where can you get the best fries?By MARI ECCLESin BrusselsIllustration by Guillem Casasús for POLITICOThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.Everyone knows Belgium is famous for one thing: beer. But there is so much more to love about this great country, including waffles, rain, quite good football, more rain, and of course fries (or frites, or frieten, or chips, but definitely not French fries). Despite attempts by Belgium’s southern neighbor to claim the fry as their own, legend has it that the stodgy treat was first eaten in the Wallonian town of Namur in 1680. Sauces say (#sorrynotsorry) that when the river froze over that winter, locals couldn’t catch fish to fry, so they put potatoes in the hot oil instead. That story is not gospel, however, and there are conflicting claims that Belgian fishermen weren’t eating fries until 1781.W...

An idiot’s guide to Belgian politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

Here’s what you need to know to avoid looking like a fool when talking politics in Brussels.By BARBARA MOENSin BrusselsIllustration by Lorenzo Conti for POLITICOThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.When a country holds the world record for time taken to form a government, you know its politics is complicated. So whether you’ve just arrived in its capital or just want to appear a bit smarter with your local neighbors, here’s what you need to know about politics in Belgium. Gimme the basicsThe next time Belgians go to the ballots is on June 9, 2024. That day, they’ll vote for their regional and federal representatives as well as in the European Parliament election. Belgium is a federal state, so whether you’re trying to find a school for your kids, report a hole in your street, or need a license plate for your car, it helps to know which government to turn to.* And in Belgium, there are plenty of governments. Power is divided between...

Fields (and bars) of dreams. How to watch sport in Brussels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

Here’s what you need to know to avoid looking like a fool when talking politics in Brussels.By ALI WALKERin BrusselsPhoto by Stephanie Lecocq/EFE via EPAThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.Brussels isn’t a huge sports town like Melbourne, London or Boston, but it’s still possible for fans to get their hit.Our guide to the city’s sporting landscape starts with football, endorsed by the EU as an important part of the European way of life (just ask Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, himself a big fan of Greece’s Aris FC).So where to go?While Anderlecht have been the historically dominant football team in Brussels, over the past few years Union Saint-Gilloise have emerged as the hipsters’ club of choice, while also usurping Anderlecht on the pitch.Five years ago, it was possible to turn up on matchday at USG’s cute little stadium in the leafy Forest neighborhood and pay at the gate to get in. Now, with USG perennially contending to win the Belgian ...

How to drink in Brussels like a pro (as in professional, not as in alcoholic)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

The best places to drink and be seen in the EU Quarter.By EDDY WAXin BrusselsIllustration by Pete Ryan for POLITICOThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.It’s impossible to say what flows more freely in the EU Quarter of Brussels: rain or booze. But only one of those substances has a proven track record of making the EU capital tick — and that’s why if you learn to drink like a pro then the relationship-building that’s central to making a successful career in Brussels should take care of itself.The Brits are gone and so is former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker who famously enjoyed a tipple, so there is probably less bubbly in the Brussels bubble than there once was, especially after the havoc that COVID wrought on bars and pubs. In 2023 the era of the liquid lunch is over, and classic watering holes such as the Old Hack and the Coolock near Schuman, En Stoemelings in Place de Londres, O’Farrell’s on Place du Luxembourg, and Monk in Sai...

Everything you always wanted to know about online dating in the Brussels bubble (but were too afraid to ask)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

A generalized, non-scientific, potentially useless (but hopefully fun) guide to Brussels’ online dating world.By GIULIA POLONIin BrusselsIllustration by Andrew Bannecker for POLITICOThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.Welcome to Brussels, where your dreams of endless bureaucratic processes and slow, incremental change brought about through compromise come to life!As the home of the EU institutions and a lot of lobbyists, Brussels’ social life revolves around one main activity: networking. This applies to both professional life and personal life — which can, at times, overlap (it’s a small world). The time-honored way to make friends/lovers if you work in or around the Brussels bubble would be to head out on a Thursday — it’s not a Friday, a more traditional big night out, because no one in the bubble works on Fridays — to Plux — that’s Place du Luxembourg, the square in front of the European Parliament. (Plux is a bit like the Mos Eisley cantin...

Sounds of Brussels. Why the city is a musical hotspot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

From the biggest concert halls to your local bar, you’ll never starve for a musical interlude.By LEYLA AKSU and PAUL DALLISONin BrusselsIllustration by Nicole Chui for POLITICO“On n’a pas les tours de New YorkOn n’a pas de lumière du jour, 6 mois dans l’annéeOn n’a pas Beaubourg ni la SeineOn n’est pas la ville de l’amour, mais bon vous voyezEt sûrement que dès ce soir le ciel couvrira une tempêteMais après l’orage avec des bières, les gens feront la fête”— Opening lines of “Bruxelles je t’aime” by Angèle.“So, at the weekend, I stumbled across a little festival in a square, and there was some fantastic Senegalese folk music” is quite likely a sentence that’s been said in Brussels during the past few weeks.That’s because the city has a wonderful array of music, found everywhere from the biggest concert halls to your local bar. Jazz and hip-hop and all genres are plentiful, and the big acts come here too (though remember that the F...

Arrive at Gare du Midi, then run! How to navigate Brussels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:48 GMT

From confusing and dangerous train stations to scooters dumped in a pile, Brussels has all your transport needs covered.By JOSHUA POSANERand HANNE COKELAEREin BrusselsIllustration by Lucas Burtin for POLITICOThis article is part of the Brussels guide special report.Welcome to Brussels, where getting around can be as mind-bending as the city’s famed surrealist art.While the EU capital is flush with trains, trams, buses, metros, and even the odd pre-metro (basically a tram masquerading as a subway), there are a few things fresh arrivals should know before boarding Brussels’ sprawling public transport network.First things first … don’t judge the city by its principal international train station, Gare du Midi.No, not the central station — believe us, many a befuddled first-time visitor makes that mistake. Brussels has a magnificent, if congested, Victor Horta-designed Central Station (located yards from the majestic Grand Place and all the chocolate, waffles and fries one could ev...